Prior art fiber optic connectors have been provided for connecting optical fibers for transmitting light signals. Electrical connectors have also been provided for connecting electrical conductors to power electrically operated equipment. Such connectors have been used for connecting signal towers to switching stations for wireless telecommunication installations. The signal towers are often located at remote distances from telecommunication switching equipment and power connections, requiring that both signal conductors and power conductors be run between the signal tower and switching equipment. In the past, data connections were provided by electrical conductors, which usually were run separately from power conductors due to EMF interference concerns and shielding constraints. With an increase in the number or broadband wireless installations, more fiber optic cables have been installed for transmitting data signals between signal towers and switching equipment. The optical fibers of such cables have also been installed separately from electric power conductors, such that separate fiber optic connectors and electric power connectors were provided for connecting optical fibers and for connecting electric power conductors, respectively.
Fiber optic connectors have been provided by connectors having main bodies defined by metallic, outer sleeves. Inserts were mounted in forward ends of the outer sleeves for receiving termini assemblies, which were mounted to the terminal ends of respective optical fibers. One or more termini retainers were provided for securing the termini within the inserts. Alignment sleeves were provided for receiving the terminal ends of the termini of mating optical fibers being connected together, to align the optical fibers for transmitting light signals. Insert caps were secured to the outward ends of the inserts for securing alignment sleeves within the inserts. A rear seal body was secured in the rearward end of the outer sleeve. The rear seal body was fixedly mounted to the fiber optic cable being connected and was secured in the outer sleeve to secure the outer housing to the fiber optic connector in fixed relation to the cable. The rear seal body had a conically shaped profile for mating with a conically shaped member to retain a portion of an outer sheath or an armor of the fiber optic cable in a fixed relation between the conically shaped profiles. Seals were also provided for sealing between the forward end of the outer sleeve and the insert, and the rear seal body and the rearward end of the outer sleeve. The outer sleeve, the insert, the termini retainer, the insert cap and the rear seal body were typically formed of metallic components, with each piece being separately made and requiring assembly to provide and to service such connectors.
The outer sleeves of the above prior art connectors typically provided the structural members to which the insert bodies and insert caps were secured in the forward ends of the connectors, and to which the rear seal bodies were secured in the rearward ends of the connectors. This required that the outer sleeves be of certain wall thicknesses to provide structural integrity for maintaining the insert bodies and the rear seal bodies in fixed relation within the outer sleeve. The required minimum wall thicknesses for the outer sleeves were balanced against the desired maximum outside diameters of the fiber optic couplings and the interior diameter required for receiving the respective insert bodies and rear seal bodies, which are sized for receiving a desired number of optical fiber termini and a desired size of cable, respectively. The above constraints typically resulted in outer sleeve interior diameters which provide limited amounts of cross sectional areas, such that only a limited amount of slack may be provided in the portion of the optical fibers which extended between the inserts and the rear seal bodies due to constraints resulting from required minimum bend radiuses for the optical fibers. Since only nominal amounts of excess lengths of the optical fibers were provided within the outer sleeves of such connectors, usually all of the termini would have to be replaced when only one termini required replacement.